Artifacts and Community

Finding 5 artifacts that best defined me was a great way to look inside myself and reflect on my past and what I value in my life. The artifacts presented by classmates were personal and left the viewer with only an abstract idea concerning the artifacts. This encouraged me to imagine what the artifacts meant, how they were used, and how they felt. Each artifact opened a new door to a different fantasy and created wonder and excitement in my mind. As I focused in on the artifacts, I felt as if I was looking through a keyhole. I felt as if I was spying on someone’s life one scene at a time. This gave me an idea.


The Investigation of an artifact
Students would construct a personal narrative through journalism, investigation, exploration, and report their findings.Students would bring in artifacts and set the artifacts in a pile on the floor. The teacher would take pictures of the artifacts and print the pictures out. The teacher would give half of the class a picture of an artifact. The students would find the person that the artifact belonged to. The teacher could come up with questions as a class(provide an experience) about what types of questions they would like to be asked about their personal artifacts.The class would brain storm possible questions.


Examples of Questions
How old is the artifact?
Where did the artifact come from?
What does the artifact mean?




Students would be encouraged to write about what they thought the artifacts represented before they asked the other student questions relating to their artifact. The students would then use a Venn diagram to compare the differences or similarities about their thoughts of the artifact. The students would create presentations using power point, voice recordings, or video cameras to document their findings. The students would then share their findings with the class.The partners would switch the following week and investigate their partners artifacts.






In this assignment students would find many differences among their classmates as well as see how much they are the same. Learning and accepting others values will help students see different cultural aspects,beliefs, and feelings as well as build community. Interviewing another student about their artifact will also promote that students ideas and experiences are important. Sharing their thoughts about their artifacts gives them a voice about something they may be passionate about.